“And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck: and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.... And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. And the famine was over all the face of the earth. And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands.” — Gen. 41:41-44, 55-5741And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. 42And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; 43And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. 44And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 41:41‑44)
55And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. 56And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. 57And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands. (Genesis 41:55‑57).
WHAT Pharaoh does here for Joseph is a very striking picture of what will yet be enacted in regard to the Lord Jesus. We read that he “took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, BOW THE KNEE: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.” I think I see the trumpeters going before Joseph, and hear them crying, “Bow the knee.” What, how the knee to Joseph, the exalted Hebrew slave? Pharaoh had said it, and bow the people must.
Reader, God now bids you bow the knee to His Son; bow your heart to Christ. Bow you must; bow you will have to. You may reply, Bow I won’t! Yes, you will — for God has said, “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear” (Isa. 45:2323I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. (Isaiah 45:23)).
That, you may argue, refers to God in His Godhead glory. Quite true; but, when the Holy Ghost quotes it in the New Testament, I find it applied to the Lord Jesus Christ as the exalted man. Listen, “Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. WHEREFORE God also hath HIGHLY EXALTED him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE SHOULD BOW, of things in heaven (angels), and things in earth (men), and things under the earth (demons); and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:6-116Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6‑11)).
What a testimony to His Deity! That which He could claim as God shall be rendered to Him as Man — the once humbled but now triumphant Man. Angels, men, and demons — all must bow to Jesus. Mark it well! No man is exempt. Every one at the name of Jesus shall bow the knee. Angels delight to own Him. Many men today rejoice to own Him. I know a multitude who confide in, and delight to own Him. Join their ranks! Is it not a joy to confess Him? Yes, indeed, it is deep joy to confess that there is no name so sweet as the name of Jesus.
“Bow the knee” was the general order given by Pharaoh. How many a proud Egyptian noble said, “Not I. I bow to Joseph the exalted slave? Never, never!” I think I see the trumpeter as he went forth and made the proclamation, by royal command, and I see many a proud Egyptian rear his head, and say, “Bow to Joseph! Never, never as long as I live!” And you won’t bow to Jesus? You don’t mean to bow to Christ? You don’t mean to believe in Jesus? Stop a bit. The end of the chapter tells us that there were seven years of plenty, and then came seven years of famine. Let us see what took place then. “And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go UNTO JOSEPH; what he saith to you, do” (vs. 55). I think that is charming. I think I can see them all ignoring Joseph, and going straight to Pharaoh, just as men now ignore Jesus, yet think they may go to God direct. “Go TO JOSEPH,” said Pharaoh, and that is what God is saying to you from glory — “Go TO JESUS. Bow to Jesus.” You must bow. He is given a name above every name, and God has declared that at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow.
Now if you will take the trouble to read the forty-seventh chapter of Genesis, you will there find four points, which I shall only indicate. There we read that when there was “no bread in all the land,” the people “fainted by reason of the famine,” and had to go to Joseph to buy corn. Hence, first “Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt” (vs. 14); secondly, he “fed them with bread for all their cattle for that year” (vs. 17); thirdly, he “bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh” (vs. 20); and lastly, he says, “I have bought you this day” (vs. 23). Thus you see the money fell into Joseph’s coffers, the cattle became his, the lands fell into his hand, and lastly the people themselves were acquired by Joseph for Pharaoh. There is nothing brings a man down like hunger. Neither a man’s pride nor his parentage can fill him in the day of hunger and need. The prodigal was fain to fill his belly with the husks the swine did eat, but could not do it. Nothing brings a man down like soul-hunger, and it is a great thing when the soul-hunger becomes commanding, when a man feels that he is a sinner, and has need of Christ, and must have Christ. Pharaoh sent the needy of his day to Joseph. They had to admit his importance, and from him they got what met their need, while Joseph acquired everything for his master.
Now I pray you not to forget the solemn yet blessed fact that the Lord Jesus is Lord of all. I admit He is forgotten, and that His claims are not recognized, but He will soon come again in glory, and His rights will be ceded by man, and established by God. What an awful day it will be when Christ takes the world in hand. It is better to own Him in the day of His absence than meet Him in the day of His wrath. You may know Him by faith now.
Perhaps you have said, I will never confess His name, I will not be converted, I won’t yield my heart to Him. Even that sin He will forgive, and I hope you will repent, and be converted this very day. You could not do better. Be like a young man I knew.
I was preaching in a good-sized town in Scotland many years ago. In the house where I was staying this young man lived with his parents, who were decided Christians. This youth was most resolute in the determination that he would not be converted. For long he would not come to the meetings, and would not yield his heart to Jesus. He heard of the conversion of his brother and sisters, but lie was still opposed. One night, to my surprise and joy, I saw my young friend for the first time enter the hall, and take a seat just inside the door, as if he desired that nobody should see him, and know he was there. When we got home to his father’s house he made not a single remark to me, and I made none either, only he stayed for evening prayers with the family, which before he had avoided.
I had to leave at six A.M. next day to come jute my work in Edinburgh. His sisters used to rise and give me breakfast, but teat morning, to our amazement, in walked Willie. His sisters looked surprised to see him, and more so, when, as I bade “Good bye” to the girls, Willie said, “If you will allow me, doctor, I will carry your bag to the station.” I was delighted, and thanked him. As I got into the train, and was saying “Good-bye,” I added, “I suppose the carrying of that bag means this, Willie, that from this day forth you are to be on the Lord’s side?” “That is exactly what I mean,” he replied. “I wanted to confess that I was converted to God in that meeting last night.” He did not live very long after that, and it was a good thing that he was turned to the Lord then.
I would like to meet you, my friend, tomorrow morning, and hear you make the same confession, “I am at last converted to God. I have made up my mind to become a Christian.” There was never a wiser resolution. Nothing can be more blessed, more bright, or precious than to become a Christian. Why not turn to Jesus now? Believe in Him now.
But, you may ask, in order to become a Christian, what have I to do?
You have just to come to Him as you are — a poor sinner in your sins. And what then? You will find Him full of grace. You cannot clear yourself, so you had better just confess your sins to the Lord frankly. Conscience had better be heeded ere it be too late. When man thinks about eternal things his conscience always works.
We are sinners, and we must feel our sins, and own them too. It is a grand day when a man owns his sins before God. God had found out our iniquities. He has found out your iniquity, and He has found out my iniquity, but I will tell you something more. He has pardoned mine and forgiven me. It is a grand thing to be able to say with the Psalmist, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence my bones waxed old, through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me; my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Psa. 32:1-51<<A Psalm of David, Maschil.>> Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. 3When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long. 4For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. 5I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. (Psalm 32:1‑5)). The moment you draw near in the acknowledgment of your sins the Lord Himself meets you. The first word He said to an anxious soul was, “Thy sins are forgiven. Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace” (Luke 7:48-5048And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 50And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace. (Luke 7:48‑50)). Grace and love, forgiveness and blessing, are the portion of the soul that turns to Him.
As soon as the ploughshare of conviction has done its work in the conscience, God delights to relieve and discharge the sin-burdened soul. It is a great thing when a man has a deep sense of his sin, and owns it. When he thus comes into the presence of God, He forgives and blots out the sins on the ground of Christ’s finished work for the sinner. Turn to Him for pardon, forgiveness, and blessing. Do not be ashamed to own the. Lord Jesus, nor to confess Him. “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom. 10:9,109That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9‑10)). God’s salvation is very simple. Just turn to the Saviour who died for you, with the acknowledgment of your sin and guilt, bow your heart to Him, and you will immediately receive blessing from Him. He says, “He that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 6:4747Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (John 6:47)). God give you grace today to receive Christ as your own blessed Saviour, and then to confess Him boldly.
W. T. P. W.